Esther Crawford – caught in a sleeping bag – is said to be influential on Twitter

A Twitter underling who went viral after being photographed in a sleeping bag on the office floor is said to have become an influential corporate figure under billionaire Elon Musk.

Esther Crawford, Twitter’s director of product management, first made waves in November for sleeping at the company’s San Francisco headquarters as Musk pushed back tight deadlines for an overhaul of his subscription plan. “TwitterBlue”.

When Musk personally visited Twitter’s offices a few days earlier, Crawford approached him in the company’s cafe and asked for a one-on-one meeting, the Financial Times reported, citing sources. close to the situation.

Crawford, who was hired by Twitter in December 2020, wanted to pitch Musk on “his ideas around payments and creators” on the social media platform, according to the report.

Crawford’s bold move angered some Twitter employees, including a “more experienced executive” who chastised her for overstepping senior chief executives to talk to Musk, FT reported.

“She was a person who became someone because she was willing to sell her soul for her 15 minutes of fame. It’s disgusting,” a former senior Twitter staffer told the FT.

The Post has reached out to Crawford and Twitter for comment.

Crawford, 39, has since become “one of the most influential old-guard leaders” on Twitter since Musk implemented mass layoffs, according to FT.

She would oversee the implementation of revamped “Twitter Blue” and a fledgling initiative to add payment functionality to the site.

Crawford has amassed more than 50,000 followers on Twitter, where she posts a mix of business-related tweets and inspirational career advice.

But its rapid rise since Musk bought the site for $44 billion last October has sparked a divisive reaction among current and former Twitter employees. Some see her as a key voice in the company’s transformation, while others see her as an “opportunist”.

Twitter product manager Evan Jones shared the first photo of Crawford sleeping on the office floor, alongside the caption, “When you need something from your boss at elon twitter.”

Crawford retweeted the photo with the caption, “When your team is working around the clock to meet deadlines, sometimes you #SleepWhereYouWork.”

When the sleeping bag photo sparked social media alarm over working conditions on Musk-led Twitter, Crawford posted a series of tweets defending the decision.

“We are #OneTeam and we use the hashtag #LoveWhereYouWork to show it, which is why I retweeted with #SleepWhereYouWork – a cheeky nod to the other Tweeps. We’ve been in the midst of a crazy public takeover for ages. months but we are continuing and I am so proud of our strength and resilience,” Crawford said at the time.

In November, workers who were spared in a first round of job cuts had to ‘opt in’ to ‘work long hours at high intensity’ or be made redundant.

Musk has pushed Twitter’s remaining workforce to embrace a “hardcore” work environment as he attempts to turn around the struggling site.